Plug valve and gas agitating means for storage sumps



Sept. 7, 1954 i N. L. DAVIS 2,633,423

PLUG VALVE AND GAS AGITATING MEANS FOR STORAGE SUMPS Filed July 12, 19512 Sheets-Sheet l 20 fly] i i 25 23 K v .9 2 3 9 7 fnveizzar' 4 I UM23071 1?. Davis Sept. 7, 1954 N. L. DAVI'S Filed July 12, 1951 2Sheets-Sheet 2 'l 73 (/3 l: 2 I I: I! H Ii I l I: I I 7|: /3/

3 4 fnvenza JVeZson'L.Z7aUZ5 discharge pipe 4.

Patented Sept. 7, 1954 PLUG VAL\ E AND GAS AGITATING MEANS FOR STORAGESUMPS Nelson L. Davis, Chicago, Ill.

Application July 12 1951, Serial No. 236,406

12 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in plug valves for storage sumpswherein such heavy liquids as water with finely divided magnetite andthe like may be stored.

. One object of my invention is to provide for association with a floatand sink heavy medium processor and storage sump a plug valve which maybe seated to cause the sump to retain the heavy medium and wherein thesettling of the solids which increase the specific gravity of the mediummay be prevented from interfering with the opening and closing of theplug valves.

Other objects will appear from time to time throughout the specificationand claims.

My invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in theaccompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a diagrammatic sectional viewof a preferred form of the device;

Figure 2 is a similar sectional view of a modified form.

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the specificationand drawings.

I is a sump tank. In this case it is the type of medium storage sumptank that would be used with a sink and float processor. It has aconical bottom 2, the walls of which are very sharply inclined so as toafford a minimum of support for settled solids. At the apex of the 'coneis an annular valve seat 3 which communicates with a 5 is a supply pipethrough which fluid reaches the sump. 6 is a streamlined smoothsurfaced, generally parabolic plug valve adapted to penetrate the throatof the pipe and seat on the seat 3. The lower portion of the valveextending above and below the seat is as indicated at l of rubber orrubber-like material which can engage and hug the valve seat 3. Theupper portion of the plug 6 is as indicated at 8 of metal adapted tocontain a plurality of air discharge apertures 9 spaced around theperiphery thereof immediately above the seat 3 and in close relationshipto the constricted lower portion of the wall 2. A conduit 10 in the body8 is in communication with the apertures 9. H is a hollow valve stemcarrying the plug valve 6 in register with the conduit l0 and extendingupwardly above the level of the liquid in the sump tank.

I2 is a cylinder mounted on a supporting I framework I3 on the sump tankI. In this cylinthe rod II and the ducts In a clear and unobstructedpassage from the interior of the cylinder l2 above the piston l4 down tothe apertures 9 and through them to the interior of the tank. Thecylinder I2 is closed at its lower end by a cylinder head l6 and box ll.It is closed at its upper end by a cylinder head It). The two cylinderheads having stop members H! as indicated to limit the movement of thepiston and leave clearance at both ends between the heads and thepiston.

29 is a two-way valve, a duct 2| leads from the lower end of thecylinder and duct 22 from the upper end of the cylinder to the valve 20.An air supply duct 23 leads from any suitable source 'of air supply tothe valve 20. The valve 20 in-- cludes a member 24 having two controlpassages 25 and 26. In the position as indicated, air under pressurefrom the source of supply passes through the duct 23, passage 25, theduct 22 to the upper end of the cylinder. Assuming that the piston is inthe down position as indicated, the air fills the cylinder and air underpressure is forced downwardly through the valve stem l l, the duct Illand the ports 9 into the restricted area immediately surrounding theplug valve and between it and the sharply inclined walls of the conicalbottom of the sump. This air pressure escaping through the ports 9 intothis narrow space violently agitates the contents of that space.Assuming that the apparatus has been out of operation for a while, thecontents of that space will include a small amount by Weight of waterwith a relatively large amount by weight of magnetite or other heavymaterial which is settled out of the medium in the tank and which would,unless agitated and removed, make it difiicult,if not impossible toraise the plug valve. When the operator has turned on this air pressureand caused the air to bubble up through this narrow restricted zone,agitating the water to a sufficient time, he then rotates the operatingvalve member 24 through an angle of ninety degrees. This causes airunder pressure from the pipe 23 to pass through the duct 26, pipe 2| tothe underside of the piston and raise the piston causing the valve stemto move upwardly to unseat the streamlined plug valve and permit theflow of medium downwardly through the conduit 4. If it should happenthat when the operator makes this change in operating valve position thevalve will remain seated, he would immediately know that he had notaerated the bottom of the tank long enough and he would return the partsto the position shown in the drawing but as soon as this heavy mediumhas been brought into suspension, it will be possible for the airpressure to raise the piston, and unseat the valve. Under thesecircumstances, of course, there is no occasion for air being bubbledinto the bottom of the tank. Once the medium is sufiiciently fluid torelease its hold on the plug valve, any further air supplied to the plugvalve at the discharge throat would be wasted or entrained with thedownward flow-of medium and might interfere with the pump action or thecontrol and operation of the sink and float system. Thus the highlydesirable function of preventing air bubbling during and after the plugvalve is opened, is automatically achieved. Of course, as soon as thepiston I4 has reached the upper end of its excursion, it stops'and theoperator may leave the valve in the position it was as the plug valvewent up to allow the air pressure to hold the piston up or he can rotatethe valve to a neutral position and so lock the air pressure in thecylinder.

When it is desired to close the plug valve the operator returns thevalve to the position shown in the drawing. Air under pressure thenenters the upper part of the cylinder and moves the piston downwardly.Any bubbling of air through the ports 9 at this time will tend-toagitate further the fluid as the" valve approaches its seat and sominimize resistance to seating of the plug valve.

In the modified form shown in Figure 2, the plug valve 30 is substitutedfor the plug valve 6, the difference being that the plug valve as has noair chamber or air discharge apertures. The solid valve stem 3| issubstituted for the hollow valve stem H. The pipe 32 communicates withthe pipe 22 and leads to amanifold 33 adjacent the bottom of the vessel,there being ports 34 through the wall of the vessel from the manifoldwhereby when the plug valve 24-is manipulated, to admit pressure to thecylinder- I2 above the piston, air is simultaneously forced into thebottom of the tank immediately above the valve seat and immediatelysurrounding the valve so that the effect of the air in clearing thevalve is the same, even though the air does not enter the vessel throughthe valve itself. Other'suitable means, of course, might be provided tocontrol the air supplied to the bottom of the valve but the formindicated is preferable because it insures that the relationship betweenthe bubbling of air into the vessel and the valve is the same in thecase of the device of Figure-1 and Figure 2.

While it is preferable to have a conical vessel,

nevertheless, it will be obvious that a vessel with a curved bottom orshaped bottom may be used so long as the port 3 is at the bottom of thevessel.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows:

The medium sump disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No.186,604 Apparatus and Method of Sink and Float Mineral Separation, filedSeptember 5, 1950 shows diagrammatically the use of the medium sump andplug valve to k which my present invention is directed.

As long as the processor is in operation, a continuous stream of waterwith finely divided magnetic material such as magnetite pours into thestorage sump and immediately runs out through the valve seat and pipefor recirculation. There is only a very small amount of liquid in thesump and it is moving rapidly therethrough at all times while the deviceis in operation, flowing around the streamlined plug valve. Hence thenecessity "operator manipulates the air valve to cause the plug valve tomove downwardly in the direction of the flow of the medium toward itsseat. As

soon as seating has taken place, flow of medium stops, medium drains outof the processor and recirculation system and fills the medium storagesump. This medium being of very high specific gravity even though veryfinely divided very soon settles down in the bottom of the tank andburies the plug valve in a rigid mass of media so solid that no ordinarymechanism could possibly pull the plug valve up against it or through itto open the port. This of course is a very much heavier solid mass thanis ordinarily found in any usual factory or industrial operation. Manytimes as heavy as the slimes or pulp which are likely to be found inwater'in storage vessels.

When it is desired to start up the plant again, the medium must be firstagitated for two reasons: First, so that the plug valve may be withdrawnto unseat the port; and second, so that slugs of undistributed mediawill not pass down into the recirculation pump and cause damage there.So the operator as his first step to putting the device back intooperation admits air to the cylinder so that it. passes down through thepiston and connecting rod to aerate, agitate and distribute thesolidified'or settled mass of media in the bottom of the sump. Only whenthis mass ofmedia has been so agitated by the air rushing out throughthe narrow space between the valve and the conical walls of the sump asto permit withdrawal of the plug is it safe to allow' the medium toescape and travel down the pipe to the pump. Thus by 'my arrangement theoperator is unable to cause the plug to move upwardly by air untiladequate aeration of the contents'of the storage sump or tank has takenplace and the fact that if he turns on the air between the pistonprematurely he is still unable to lift the plug valve, provides anadequate safeguard against admitting too concentrated a mass of media tothe pump.

Since the discharge from the vessel of settled material of too great adensity can clog or perhaps disable the pump, it is of the utmostimportance that the valve be not opened until the solids contained inthe liquid in the vessel are so mixed with the liquid that they willpass throughthe pump and piping system without damage. This is insuredby so relating the size of the piston with the available air pressurethat the air pressure cannot cause upward piston movement until thesolids in the vessel have been suflicientlya'gitated to insure that theliquid will pass through the pump. Some settlement of the solids, ofcourse, would not be fatal. Perhaps the plant mightbe shut down. for anhour or so and still settlement of solidswould do no harm but oncethesolids have been settled down around the valve to a point where theyare sufiicientlycondensed and concentrated to be dangerous to the pump,the valve cannot be opened.

Thus the operatorcannotmake the two most serious possiblemistakesbecauseas the valve closes, air isbubbling through thevalve to'agitate theliquid around the valve seat, the valve and valve seat are washed clearof any solids which if they settled between the valve and valve seatmight cause leakage and until the'operator has put on the air longenough to sufllciently agitate the liquid, he cannot open the valve.

Iclaim:

1. In combination, a liquid tight vessel, a discharge port in the bottomthereof, a valve seat encircling the port, a valve located within thevessel above and movable toward and from the seat, a cylinder, a pistonmounted for reciprocation therein and a driving connection between thepiston and the valve whereby movement of the "piston may open and closethe valve, a fluid connection between the interior of the valve and thecylinder above the piston, a fluid discharge port in the valve above thevalve seat when the valve is seated and means for controlling motivefluid to the lower side of the piston to raise the valve and to theupper side to both seat the valve and force fluid upwardly through itand into and through the vessel and the material therein contained.

2. In combination, a liquid tight vessel having a conical bottom, adischarge port adjacent the apex of and concentric with the conicalbottom, a valve seat encircling the port, a valve, located within thevessel aboveand movable toward and from the seat, a cylinder, a pistonmounted for reciprocation therein and a driving connection between thepiston and the valve whereby movement of the piston may open and closethe valve, a fluid connection between the interior of the valve and thecylinder above the piston, a fluid discharge port in the valve above thevalve seat, adjacent the apex of the cone, when the valve is seated andmeans for controlling flow of motive fluid to the lower side of thepiston to raise the valve and to the upper side of the piston to .bothseat the valve and force fluid through it upwardly into the vessel,above the valve seat and through the material therein contained.

3. In combination, a liquid tight vessel, a discharge port in the bottomthereof, a valve seat encircling the port, a valve.located within thevessel above and movable toward and from the seat, a cylinder, a pistonmounted for reciprocation therein and a driving connection between thepiston and the valve whereby movement of the piston may open and closethe valve, a fluid connection between the cylinder above the piston andthe vessel adjacent the valve seat, th connection including a conduitopen at one end to the cylinder and at the other end terminating in aport open to the vessel immediately adjacent but above the valve seatand means for controlling flow of motive fluid to the lower side of thepiston to raise the valve and to the upper side of the valve to bothseat the valve and force motive fluid into the vessel above the seat.

4. In combination, a liquid tight vessel having a conical bottom, adischarge port adjacent the apex of and concentric with the conicalbottom, a valve seat encircling the port, a valve located Within thevessel above and movable toward and from the seat, a cylinder, apistonmounted for reciprocation therein and a driving connection betweenthe piston and the valve whereby movement of the piston may open andclose the valve, a fluid connection between the cylinder above thepiston and the vessel adjacent the valve seat, the

connection including a conduit open at one end to the cylinder and atthe other end terminating in a port open to the vessel immediatelyadjacent but above the valve seat and means for control- 6 ling flow ofmotive fluid to the lower side of the piston to raise the valve and tothe upper side of the valve to both seat the valve and force motivefluid into the vessel above the seat.

5. In combination, a liquid tight vessel, a discharge port in the bottomthereof, a valve seat encircling the port, a valve located within thevessel above and movable toward and from the seat, a cylinder, a pistonmounted for reciprocation therein and a driving connection between thepiston and the valve whereby movement of the piston may open and closethe valve, a fluid connection between the interior of the valve and thecylinder above the piston, a fluid discharge port in the valve above thevalve seat when the valve is seated and means for controlling motivefluid to the lower side of the piston to raise the valve and to theupper side to both seat the valve and force fluid through it into thevessel above the seat, the cylinder being above the liquid in thevessel, the fluid connection between the valve and the cylindercomprising a conduit through the driving connection between the pistonand the valve.

6. In combination, a liquid tight vessel having a conical bottom, adischarge port adjacent the apex of and concentric with the conicalbottom.

a valve seat encircling the port, a valve located within the vesselabove and movable toward and from the seat, a cylinder, a piston mountedfor reciprocation therein and a driving connection between the pistonand the valve whereby movement of the piston may open and close thevalve, a fluid connection between the interior of the valve and thecylinder above the piston, a fluid discharge port in the valve above thevalve seat adjacent the apex of the cone, when the valve is seated andmeans for controlling flow of motive fluid to the lower side of thepiston to raise the valve and to the upper side of the piston to bothseat the valve and force fluid through it into the vessel above theseat, the cylinder being above the liquid in the vessel, the fluidconnection between the valve and the cylinder comprising a conduitthrough'the driving connection'between the piston and the valve.

7. In a medium storage sump for sink and float processors and the likeincludinga conical tank, the bottom wall of which is sharply inclineddownwardly, a valve seat concentric with and located at the lowerboundary of the downwardly conically inclined walls, a conduit extendingdownwardly away from the valve seat, an elliptical generally smoothsurfaced plug valve contained within the tank adapted to be moveddownwardly therein to seat upon the valve seat, a hollow valve stemextending upwardly from the plug valve to a point above the liquidlevel, the plug valve being ported adjacent but immediately above thevalveseat, an air passage in the valve between the port and the hollowvalve stem, a piston on the upper end of the valve stem, a cylinder inwhich the piston is free to reciprocate, a source of air under pressure,a control valve therefor, ducts leading from the control valve to thetop and bottom of the cylinder, an air passage through the pistoncommunicating with the hollow valve stem whereby when pressure isapplied to the upper end of the cylinder, air is forced downwardlythrough the piston, hollow stem and plug valve to bubble upwardlythrough the restricted area between the plug valve and the bottom of thesump tank.

8. In a medium storage sump for sink and float processors and the likeincluding a conical &6885423.

nk.;. he t n1 Wall i chi ta h ply nc-.- clined downwardly, a valveseat'concentricwithand located at the lower boundary ofthedown Wardlyconically inclined-walls, a conduit extende ing,downwardly aWay fromthevalve seat, an elliptical'generally smooth surfaced plug valve containedwithin the tank adapted to bemoved downwardly therein to seat uponthe-valve seat,

a hollow valve stem extending upwardly from;

when pressure is applied to the upper end of the cylinder, air is forceddownwardly throughthe piston, hollow stem and plug valve to bubble up-,vwardly through the restricted area between-,the

plugvalve and the bottom of the sump tank, the

controlvalve being adapted in one position to permit air under pressureto enter the cylinder above the piston to seat the valve andsimultaneously' force air to the bottom of the sump tank and in theother-position distribute air; beneath the piston to raise it and thevalve to unseat the valve without admission of air to the sump tank. I

9. In combination, a liquid tight vessel, a discharge port in the bottomthereof, a valve seat encircling the port, a streamlined valve, circularin transverse cross section and ogival at both top and bottom inlongitudinal cross section, having a compressible tip adapted topenetrate, extend partially through and seat upon the seat, a hollowstem extending upwardly through the vessel from the valve, air dischargeports in the body of the valve above the valve seat the hollow stem andthe air discharge ports being in communication with one another throughthe valve, a cylinder, a piston mounted for reciprocation in thecylinder, the valve stem serving, as a piston rod for the piston andextending through the piston whereby when air pressure is applied to theupper face of the piston the piston is biased downwardly and air alsopasses downwardly through the valve stem for discharge into theencircling the port, a streamlined valve, circular; in; transverse crosssection and ogivalat both;-

top and bottom in longitudinal cross section, having acompressible tipadapted to penetrate, ex-

tend partially through and seat upon the seat,

a hollow stem extending upwardly through-the vessel from the valve, airdischarge ports in the body of the valve above the valve seat the hollowstem and the air discharge ports being in communication with one anotherthrough the valve, a cylinder, a piston mounted for reciprocation in thecylinder, the valve stem serving as a piston rod for the piston andextending through the piston whereby when air pressure is applied to theupper face of the piston the piston is biased downwardly and air alsopasses downwardly;

through the valve stem for discharge into the vessel through the valve,means including a manually adjustable valve for selectively controllingthe flow of air to the upper and lower side of the piston, the pistonand cylinder limiting the valve travel whereby when the valve is raisedabove encircling the port, a valve adapted to penetrate from above andseat upon the valve seat, a valve stem-extending upwardly therefrom, acylinder,

a piston on the upper end of the valve stem, a

port in the bottom of the vessel above the seat,

means for supplying air simultaneously to the cylinder above the pistonand to the port above the valve seat.

12. In combination, a liquid tight vessel, a discharge port in thebottom thereof, a valve seat encircling the port, a valve adapted topenetrate from above and seat upon the valve seat, a valve stemextending upwardly therefrom, a cylinder, apiston on the upper end ofthe valve stem, a port in the bottom of the vessel above the seat, meansfor supplying air simultaneously to the cylinder above the piston and tothe port above the valve seat, said means being adapted to supply aironly to the underside of the piston when airis shut off from the upperside of the piston and the port.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,254,472 Dahl Sept. 2, 1941 2,305,724 Luetzelschwab Dec. 22,1942 2,315,058 Holt et a1 Mar. 30, 1943 2,569,085 Wood Sept. 25, 19512,578,994 Dunaway Dec. 18, 1951

